Heat
by T-man626
Summary: Worlds collide when a badly burned body turns up in New York's Twelfth Precinct. Caskett and Helyka.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This is merely a teaser for an upcoming story, which will be posted at a later date. Feedback is welcome.

* * *

Heat

The blaring of a cell phone interrupted Richard Castle's sleep. Rather than acknowledging his return to the world of the working people, however, he grunted, tightened his arm around his girlfriend's waist, and buried his head in the pillow. He really didn't want to talk to his crazy publisher/ex-wife right now….

The phone continued to ring, however, and now Kate was also awake. Rick felt her tug against his arm, so he let her go. The bed shifted as she sat up and leaned over. Rick's sleep- and vacation-addled brain finally realized that it was her cell phone that had gone off, not his, just as she stated, "Beckett."

By the time she hung up, Rick was mostly awake and peering up at her from where he still lay on the bed. "Dead body?" he asked.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Kate looked over her shoulder at him. "Yep."

"So much for a nice, easy day of paperwork."

"Poor baby," Kate smirked, leaning over to kiss him. "You know, if you need to recover from our _grueling _vacation I'm sure that the boys and I can handle this one without you."

"And have you set up another faux-murder for me to solve?" Rick shook his head and sat up. "As cool as that was, I think I prefer working the real thing."

Kate laughed. "You are such a geek. C'mon, Espo's expecting us."

* * *

"Of all the places to commit a murder," Castle moaned as he followed Kate in to the crime scene.

"Steady there Castle," Kate tossed over her shoulder. Inwardly, she agreed whole-heartedly with his sentiment: There was something very wrong with finding a dead body in a mom-and-pop bookstore. CSU bustled around the sales floor, marking evidence and taking pictures. Next to the cash register, Ryan interviewed a young man and young woman. Kate didn't see the rest of her team at first, but then Esposito stuck his head out from behind a bookshelf.

"Espo," she greeted the other detective as she made her way over, Castle trailing behind. "Lanie what've you…." Kate's voice trailed off as she took in the sight before her.

Hidden by the bookshelves stood a little reading nook, complete with a rocking chair, a sling chair, and a table stacked with books. The shelves surrounding the area contained not books but a variety of toys and models; Kate noted the presence of such literary staples as the Tin Woodsman, the velveteen rabbit, and several spaceships, including the one from _2001_. The victim lay on the floor, surrounded by several more models that appeared to have come from an open box. From where she stood, Kate was reasonably certain that the victim was female. Unfortunately, the body was so burned that even that observation was in doubt.

"Whoa," Castle breathed. "That looks like the body we pulled from the pizza oven."

"Except this time COD are the burns," Lanie supplied from where she knelt next to the body. She motioned for the pair to join her.

"Victim is Mary Langston, age 40. She runs the shop," Esposito supplied. "The body was found this morning by the two assistants."

"What about time of death?" Kate asked Lanie.

"Under normal circumstances, a body should only look like this after being on fire for several hours. But Kate, look around," Lanie said. Kate did as her friend suggested.

"No burns," Castle muttered from behind her.

"No sign of a fire," Kate agreed.

"So how did our vic end up like this?" Esposito asked.

* * *

The buzzing of the Farnsworth interrupted Helena G. Wells' sleep. Ignoring the reminder of her working life, she merely sighed, tightened her arm around her girlfriend's waist, and snuggled deeper into the pillow. The pair was on vacation, after all….

Of course, the Farnsworth continued to buzz, waking Myka up. Helena felt her tug against her arm, and reluctantly let her go. The bed shifted as Myka left it, and Helena could just hear her feet as she padded across the room. The buzzing got louder as Myka retrieved the infernal machine from the depths of the suitcase, then finally ceased as she answered. "This better be good, Artie."

The Farnsworth being what it was, Helena could hear both sides of the conversation. "I've got a ping-"

"Artie, we're on _vacation!_" Myka interrupted. Helena couldn't help but smile into the pillow at the hint of whine in the other woman's voice.

"And I am stuck in the Warehouse with Trailer while all of my other agents are out on two other cases!" The older man's voice softened slightly. "Myka, this ping is right there in New York City."

"Artie," Myka started to protest again, but Helena could hear the softness in her voice.

"I promise: Snag it, bag it, tag it, and whatever time it takes to do that you can tack on to the end of your trip."

"Okay Artie," Myka sighed. "Give me details."

Giving up on getting any more sleep, Helena finally rolled over and sat up. Stretching, she watched as Myka dutifully took notes on a piece of hotel stationary. When Myka shut the Farnsworth, Helena stood and walked across the room, wrapping her arms around the younger woman from behind. "Back to work, then," she commented, resting her chin on Myka's shoulder.

"I guess so," Myka replied, laying her arms on top of Helena's. "So much for our vacation."

"Now, now, Artie did say that we shouldn't count this as time off. Don't worry love," Helena smiled, "we'll still have a proper holiday."

Myka turned slightly so that she could see Helena. "I'll remember that."

"Do." Helena leaned in and kissed her. "Now then, why don't you fill me in on the details while we take a shower?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **First chapter! Thank you everyone for your patience. Just a quick note: I started work on this before the season finales of both shows aired, but pictured it taking place post Season 5 of Castle/post Season 4 of Warehouse 13. For the purposes of this story, Castle didn't propose to Beckett, Beckett was never offered a job in DC, Helena returned to the Warehouse (see my story "Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust"), and Myka doesn't have cancer. In other words, AU! Got it? Good.

* * *

"We all left around eight last night," Curt Edmonds explained to Detective Kevin Ryan. "I offered to stay later and put away the new models, but Mary wouldn't hear of it. Said she wanted to take care of it herself."

"Where did you go once you left?" Kevin inquired.

"I headed home and spent the night watching TV," Edmonds replied.

"I went to a friend's birthday party," Alice Mitchell said.

"What about Mrs. Langston?"

"She went to pick up Katie, her daughter, from karate class," Mitchell answered.

Kevin nodded as he took down the information. "Okay. Can you walk me through what happened this morning?"

"I got here around seven," Edmonds said. "I'm normally the first one here, so I have to disarm the security system. But this morning, it was already turned off."

"Is it possible you just forgot to arm it last night?"

Mitchell shook her head. "I _know_ I armed it when we left. I had to enter the code twice because it didn't accept it the first time."

"That's right," Edmonds agreed, his tone suggesting he'd forgotten that information until now. "I meant to run a test on the system this morning. Anyway, I turned on the lights and put my stuff behind the counter. Then Alice came in-"

"—and I asked you where the box of models was. It had been sitting next to the register when we left," Mitchell explained to Kevin.

"So I started looking for it," Edmonds continued. "And when I got to the reading alcove, I found…" He trailed off. Mitchell reached over and took his hand in hers.

"Right," Kevin said, just to fill the silence. "And who called 911?"

"I did," Mitchell said.

"Do you have security cameras here in the shop?"

"Just the ones here at the register and at the front door," Edmonds replied, his voice still shaky with emotion.

"Okay, I'll need the tapes from them. One last thing: Can either of you think of anyone who would have wanted to hurt your boss?" Kevin felt mildly relieved when both assistants shook their heads. "Well, if either one of you think of anything else, please give me a call." He passed over two business cards and turned away from the pair just in time to see Lanie and another morgue worker pushing out a gurney with the black body bag on it. Javi, Beckett, and Castle were right behind. "Hey guys," he greeted them, meeting them at the door.

"So what've you got?" Beckett asked as the group came to a halt.

The door swung closed behind Lanie, sending a light breeze to ruffle the pages of Kevin's tablet. In a low voice, Kevin relayed all that he had learned. "Not much to go on," Javi summed up when Kevin finished talking.

Kevin shrugged. "Maybe the tapes will show something," he suggested half-heartedly.

"Maybe," Beckett said, sounding like she didn't believe it any more than he did. "Okay, Castle and I will talk to the family. I want you two to check those tapes. Get the records for the security system from whatever company installed it, too; there might be something there. And get both business and personal financials and phone records and start going over those."

"On it," Kevin replied.

Javi nodded agreement, glancing out the large front window. Then he did a double-take. "Hey Boss." He pointed to the view, causing the other three to turn and look. Kevin blinked to be sure that he was seeing it correctly: The gurney had yet to be loaded in to the Morgue Mobile; instead Lanie had opened the bag and was showing the body to two brunettes. Confused, Kevin turned to look at the other three and saw his expression mirrored on their faces.

"I'll handle this," Beckett stated. "You two get to work." With that, she shouldered open the front door and strode out, Castle trailing in her wake.

Kevin exchanged a glance with Javi. "I'm sure we'll know if it's something important," he reassured the other.

"Right."

* * *

This was definitely one for the books, Lanie Parrish decided as she and Isaac loaded the corpse into the standard black body bag. She knew that Kate loved getting the freaky ones, but there were days when Lanie most emphatically did _not_ share that enthusiasm. Days like today, for instance.

"Excuse me," a voice off to the side called. Lanie turned to see a pair of dark-haired women approaching.

"Can I help you?" the medical examiner asked.

"Agent Myka Bering, Secret Service," the taller of the two introduced as she stopped next to the gurney. She held up her badge for inspection. "I was wondering if I could take a look at that body."

"Um, sure," Lanie said, taken aback. She motioned for Isaac to unzip the body bag. "Is there something going on that I should know about?" Lanie asked Agent Bering as the other woman began to take a closer look at the body.

"Lee Wax?" Lanie looked to her right to see Kate and Castle exiting the bookstore. Castle pushed past Kate and approached the Secret Service agent with a confused look on his face. "What's a true crime writer doing here?"

Agent Bering looked at the author in confusion. "I'm sorry; you must have me mistaken for someone else."

"You'll have to forgive Mr. Castle," Kate smoothly inserted herself into the group and conversation, "but you do look a lot like someone we've met before. Now, unless I see some ID, I'll have to ask you to move along."

Again, the stranger held up her badge. "Agent Myka Bering, Secret Service."

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD," Kate introduced herself. "This is Mr. Castle, a consultant with the department, and you've apparently already met Dr. Parrish. And you are?" She addressed this last question towards Agent Bering's companion, still bent over the body.

"Oh, Miss Wells is a consultant for my department," Agent Bering answered.

Miss Wells looked up from her examination and waved. "Hello," she greeted them, her English accent startling Lanie.

"Yes, well unless you can tell me why the Secret Service is interested in this case, I'll have to ask her to step away from that body," Kate replied. Thankfully, Miss Wells did as requested. "Well?" Kate cocked her head.

"It's a matter of national security," Agent Bering replied.

"Here we go," Castle muttered.

"We're concerned," the federal agent continued, throwing a bemused look at the author, "that your victim may have come into contact with an… _item_ that could potentially harm others, as well."

"Really?" Kate cocked an eyebrow, ignoring Castle's derisive snort. "Well, if you can give me a description of this item, I'll gladly tell you if we find it." She caught Lanie's eye. "Dr. Parrish, I look forward to hearing your findings."

Lanie knew a dismissal when she heard one. "Of course Detective. Isaac?"

Thankfully, the technician had started moving the instant Kate spoke. By the time Lanie addressed him he had re-zipped the bag and was sliding the body into the van. With a final nod to her friends, Lanie quite happily left the growing tension of the conversation and made a beeline for the passenger seat. She let out a sigh as Isaac slid in beside her and started the engine. Oh yeah. This was _definitely _one for the books.

* * *

**Author's Note: **For those of you not in the know, Joanne Kelly (Myka) had a guest appearance in season one of Castle as a true crime author named Lee Wax. Next chapter will feature the lovely Warehouse team!


End file.
